The Queen's only intact eye stared at the skull-shaped bell in Xuanming Fairy's hand. The bell swung from side to side, then emitted a sound as lively as a clear spring.
Shen Ci opened her eyes wide, almost thinking she was hallucinating. She almost blurted out "How is this possible?", but she swallowed it back with all her strength.
Shen Hefeng was even more impatient than Shen Ci and screamed directly, "Why did the bell ring? Shouldn't this bell spit fire?"
After Shen Hefeng asked these two questions, he realized that he had said the wrong thing, but it was too late.
The Queen sneered, "Why does Shen Fanghua look so shocked? Could it be that you knew in advance that I was the one possessed by the evil spirit?"
Chen Hefeng quickly denied it, "Of course not. Your Majesty is the father of a nation. How could an evil spirit dare to find you?"
If Chen Hefeng knew in advance that the evil spirit was the Queen, it would be a disguised admission that he and the Fairy Xuanming had colluded in advance.
Chen Hefeng looked at the emperor with tears in his eyes, "Your Majesty, you know that I am the most timid person. When Xuanming Fairy came in just now, I was frightened by her appearance. How could I have known someone like her before?"
The emperor frowned and said to the queen, "Don't always find fault with Shen Fanghua. During the days when I was bedridden, he took care of me day and night, and also shared the pressure for you, the master of the palace. I won't force you to like him, but I will never allow you to embarrass him in every way."
Ling Shumo took a step forward and stood in front of the Queen, "The Queen Mother thinks highly of Shen Fanghua and allowed him to serve at your bedside. He has indeed worked hard.
But father, queen mother, several deputy fathers, and all of us royal sisters and brothers, although we don’t have the opportunity to serve tea and water to queen mother, our filial piety to you is no less.
Queen Mother doesn't know that Fifth Sister was so worried about your illness that she couldn't eat or sleep. Just now, while waiting in the outer hall, she fell to the ground out of hunger."
After Ling Shumo said this, the emperor's attention finally shifted away from the empress. She looked at the Fifth Princess, who had been standing in the corner, as if invisible, and her face was deeply moved. "Shulan, you are such a naive child! How could you be so honest? You starved yourself to death. I know you are filial, but please don't ruin your body like this for me in the future. As a mother, I feel bad about you doing this."
Ling Shulan knelt before the emperor's bed, wiping away the nonexistent tears. "My mother is unwell, and I simply can't eat. I only hope that Fairy Xuanming is truly capable and can cure my mother's illness so I can regain my appetite."
Lady Yang hurried to help Ling Shulan up, "Your Majesty is aware of His Highness Wu's filial piety. Your Highness, please get up quickly. You fainted once outside just now, so please don't tire yourself out again."
Ling Shulan stood up and glanced at Ling Shumo calmly. She had accepted Ling Shumo's kindness today, and she would definitely return it when she had the chance.
After this little episode, Xuanming Fairy rang the bell several more times, and finally stood in front of Shen Hefeng. Now, all the masters in the room had been tested by the spirit-calling bell, and he was the only one who had not yet been summoned.
Xuanming Fairy had said from the beginning that the person who had made the emperor seriously ill was in this room. This meant that he was the evil spirit.
Shen Hefeng looked at Shen Ci anxiously. Xuanming Fairy was obviously someone my sister had sent over. It was impossible for her to label him as an evil spirit in the end, right?
Shen Ci was also muttering in his heart. The direction of things now was completely beyond his expectations.
Fairy Xuanming shook the black bell in her hand.
She moved her wrist left and right, but there was no sound for a long time.
The silence in the house was eerie.
The next moment, orange-red flames burst out from the skull's eye sockets. The flames first touched Shen Hefeng's collar, and the burning pain made Shen Hefeng scream. He slapped the burning collar with his hands, but the flames did not diminish, but spread to his chest.
"Put out the fire, put out the fire quickly," Shen Ci said, picking up the nearest teapot and pouring it on Shen Hefeng. The tea quickly poured over Shen Hefeng's body, but the flames did not subside at all, but instead had a tendency to burn bigger and bigger.
The hoarse voice of Xuanming Fairy became sharp at this moment, "Evil spirit, quickly come out of Shen Fanghua's body." As she spoke, a ball of blue firework shot out from the right eye socket of the skull. The blue flame swallowed up the orange-red flame burning on Shen Hefeng's clothes, and then the fire gradually died down.
Shen Hefeng knelt on the ground in embarrassment. He almost thought he was going to be burned to death, but when he looked down, his clothes that were burned by the flames were intact, without even a hole left by the burn.
At this time, the bell in the hand of Fairy Xuanming began to shake desperately. The bell shook faster and faster. The people in the house could no longer see the shape of the bell, but could only see its afterimage swaying from side to side.
Gradually, the emperor discovered that it seemed that it was not the hand of Xuanming Fairy that was controlling the bell. The bell seemed to have its own consciousness. It was pulling Xuanming Fairy's wrist left and right, trying to break free from Xuanming Fairy's palm.
A strange chanting sound emanated from the mouth of the Immortal Lady Xuanming. The sound was like the roar of an ancient giant beast, and seemed to be the echo in the deep abyss. Everyone present almost got goosebumps when they heard it.
After an unknown amount of time, the chanting from Xuanming Fairy stopped, and the bell in her hand finally quieted down and became dead again.
Xuan Ming Fairy bowed deeply to the emperor, her voice returning to its initial hoarseness and lowness. "Your Majesty, the evil spirit is possessed by Shen Fanghua. The flames ejected from the skull are specifically used to burn the evil spirit. The evil spirit has now been burned to death, so the flames will not harm Shen Fanghua's body.
However, although the evil spirit has been eliminated, Shen Fanghua's soul has long been eaten away by it, leaving it in tatters. A person with such a broken soul must not stay by Your Majesty's side in the future, otherwise, he will bring endless disasters and illnesses to Your Majesty."
Ling Shumo's face was filled with sudden enlightenment. "No wonder Shen Fanghua looked so frightened ever since the fairy entered the Yangxin Palace. Wouldn't this ghost be terrified when it sees a demon catcher?"
Shen Hefeng was frightened by the flames just now and was still sitting on the ground in shock. Hearing Ling Shumo's words, he suddenly became anxious, "I was scared because I saw the fairy lady dressed like a ghost, not because I had a guilty conscience. That's why I didn't harm His Majesty."
After he finished his defense, he wiped his tears and looked at the emperor, "Your Majesty, this fairy must be a liar. I am sincere to you. Heaven and earth can bear witness to this, as can the sun and the moon. This is why my soul has not been devoured by evil spirits. I will never harm you. You must trust me."
Xuanming Fairy's actions just now were indeed very intimidating. The emperor believed it in his heart, but looking at the pitiful Shen Hefeng, she really couldn't bear to do it. What about the gods and ghosts? After all, they are all nonsense.
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